Development of the Oceanus LunaJumper

While Oceanus: Odyssey One primarily occurs underwater, the film’s teaser is set in space above a large Earth-bound asteroid. In it, two astronauts command an Asteroid Tug—a small, utilitarian, but futurisitic space vehicle—that’s able to carry its crew comfortably for a long-duration mission. Since I also serve as the film’s production designer, I sketched a number of ideas for what this ship might look like while writing the script. At the time, I played with designs similar to an Apollo CSM and the newly-developed Orion spacecraft, then left it alone until my team would begin working on final set designs.

Subsequently, in the midst of pre-production, the request came from Evolutionary Films, the film’s UK production partners, to develop Odyssey One into a small-screen adventure as well. This made sense since the final scenes of the film leave open the possibility of adventures beyond Earth. As a huge fan of lunar adventures, I began pondering dual stories that take place on the Earth, underwater, and on the Moon’s surface.

I grew up a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Gerry Anderson series UFO and Space: 1999. All three projects featured futuristic bases on the Moon. I’ve always wanted to tell a story about what it would be like to live and work on the lunar surface. Now was my chance!

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CLRF sketch

CLRF sketch views

CLRF final from above

CLRF final low angle

My idea was to create the Copernicus Lunar Research Facility (CLRF)—a moonbase that could hold up to a thousand people. Oceanus Base (the film’s deep-sea facility, located on the floor of the Pacific) features an iconic, elevated mushroom-dome surrounded by supporting structures. I figured that since the same fictional company—Xanthis Heavy Industries—constructed both the lunar and under-water habitats, why not base this new design on a similar aesthetic? With the help of FutureDude Entertainment Concept Artist and Art Director, Dylan Hansen, the CLRF came to life very quickly.

With the base established, I knew I wanted to create a cool and memorable ship design for the Asteroid Tug, which I had now named the LunaJumper. My designs focused on references that really mattered from my past: NASA’s Lunar Module; the NASA Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) also know as the “Flying Bedstead”; the MoonBus from 2001; the MoonMobiles from Gerry Anderson’s UFO; and my all-time favorite science-fiction spacecraft, the Eagle from Space: 1999.

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Lunar Landing Research Vehicle

UFO’s ‘Moonmobile’

2001: A Space Odyssey’s ‘Moonbus’

Space: 1999’s ‘Eagle’

Contemplating each to these designs, I felt like there was a unifying principle in each—a functional believability. They all stem from the same lineage and are created to function without aerodynamics in an airless environment. Beams and girders act as supports and landing gear; fuel and air tanks are simply exposed. Employing my own functional believability, I feel like I created a visually-stunning design that stands on its own as a memorable and exciting space vehicle. My son Kieran affectionately calls the LunaJumper the “Bullfrog” due to is obvious aesthetic similarities. The name has stuck and will be used in the film on TV series.

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LunaJumper ‘Bullfrog’

‘LunaJumper alt views

LunaJumper production art

Revelation promo poster

In Part Two of this article, we will delve into the development of the LunaJumper’s interior. And later, in Part Three we’ll see the craft take flight is a series of amazing animations created by the amazing Tobias Richter and his team at The light Works in Cologne, Germany!